Author: Mike Harrison

Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital was one of the city’s first to deal with patients in early 2020 suffering from a then-unknown virus Members of a World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic visited another Wuhan hospital that had treated early COVID-19 patients on their second full day of work on January 30.Also read: Coronavirus | WHO team visits Wuhan, starts fieldwork to trace virus originsWuhan Jinyintan Hospital was one of the city’s first to deal with patients in early 2020 suffering from a then-unknown virus and is a key part of the epidemiological history of the…

The U.S. Secretary of State expressed concern over Pakistan Supreme Court’s decision acquitting those involved in the sensational kidnapping and murder of The Wall Street Journal journalist in 2002 U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken has spoken over phone with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and discussed the accountability of convicted terrorists responsible for the murder of Daniel Pearl, according to the State Department. Pearl, the 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was abducted and beheaded while he was in Pakistan investigating a story in 2002 on the links between the country’s powerful spy agency…

Paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his ideals continue to motivate millions.Gandhi was shot dead on this day in 1948 by Nathuram Godse. His death anniversary is observed as Martyrs’ Day. “Tributes to the great Bapu on his Punya Tithi. His ideals continue to motivate millions. On Martyrs’ Day we recall the heroic sacrifices of all those great women and men who devoted themselves towards India’s freedom and the well-being of every Indian,” Mr. Modi said in a tweet. You have reached your limit for free articles this month. Subscription…

Under the post-Brexit deal, EU products should still be able to travel unhindered from the bloc to Northern Ireland The European Union introduced tighter rules Friday on exports of COVID-19 vaccines that could hit shipments to nations like the United Kingdom, deepening a dispute with London over scarce supplies of potentially lifesaving shots.Also read: EU, AstraZeneca publish heavily redacted deal in vaccine rowBut amid an outcry in Northern Ireland and the UK, the European Commission made clear the new measure will not trigger controls on vaccines shipments produced in the 27-nation bloc to the small territory that is part of…

The three militants, belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit, were encircled in Pulwama’s Lelhar area on Friday evening Two militants surrendered and an injured militant was shifted to a hospital on Saturday morning at an encounter site in south Kashmir’s Pulwama, where an operation of the security forces was launched on Friday evening.”Two terrorists surrendered along with two AK 47 rifles before senior officers of the police and security forces. One terrorist, who was injured in the encounter, has been shifted to hospital for medical treatment,” Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said.The three militants were encircled in Pulwama’s Lelhar…

India has one-of-the highest level of Out-Of-Pocket Expenditures (OOPE) contributing directly to the high incidence of catastrophic expenditures and poverty, notes the Economic Survey. It suggested an increase in public spending from 1% to 2.5-3% of GDP — as envisaged in the National Health Policy 2017 — can decrease the OOPE from 65% to 30% of overall healthcare spend.The Survey states about 65% of deaths in India are now caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with ischemic heart diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and stroke being the leading causes.The Survey observes that the health of a nation depends critically on…

India must keep its focus on economic growth, rather than trying to alleviate inequality, says the Economic Survey, arguing given India’s current stage of development, redistribution of wealth is not feasible without growing the overall pie.Economic Survey 2021 updatesUnlike the developed world, in India, economic growth and inequality both have similar correlations with socio-economic indicators such as health, education, fertility rates, crime and drug usage. The Survey also draws on the Chinese experience to suggest in countries with high growth rates and high levels of absolute poverty, there is no trade-off between growth and inequality. It said questions regarding conflict…

The Home Minister is said to be keeping a close watch on developments related to farmers’ protests and the low intensity blast near the Israeli embassy. Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s tour of poll-bound West Bengal scheduled for January 30-31 was cancelled late Friday evening. Mr. Shah was expected to fly in to Kolkata on Friday night itself for the trip which included public rallies and former Forest Minister of the State Rajib Banerjee joining the BJP.Sources in Mr. Shah’s office confirmed the same to The Hindu. Mr. Shah is said to be keeping a close watch on developments with…

BKU (Ugrahan) leader says govt. is playing dirty tricks to give impression that ongoing movement is weakening With incidents of ‘locals’ reportedly demanding agitating farmers to vacate protesting sites near Delhi borders, Joginder Singh, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), one of the largest outfits in Punjab, on Friday termed the episodes being sponsored by the BJP government at the Centre. Mr. Singh told The Hindu that the government was playing dirty tricks to give an impression that the ongoing movement was weakening, which, he said, “was only strengthening under excesses being committed by the government.” Asserting that the…

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla chaired an all-party meeting on Friday, the opening day of the Budget session, at which Opposition leaders demanded a debate on the farm laws on the floor of the House.Separately, the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) decided to end the first part of the session on February 13, instead of February 15 as scheduled earlier.February 15 being a Monday, BAC members unanimously decided to work on a Saturday and end the first part on February 13, instead of stretching it to a new week, said sources. Earlier scheduleAccording to the earlier schedule, the session was to…